The Greek press was divided in its reaction to the killing of UK military attache Brigadier Stephen Saunders, with some commentators blaming the United States and others attacking the Greek Government over its failure to prevent terrorism.

The independent centre-right paper Kathimerini said the murder came at a time when "the Americans are exerting unbearable pressure with... baseless accusations calling for stricter, and on the whole anti-democratic, anti-terrorist measures".

We believe that the incidents are made in the USA

Rizospastis

The Communist Party paper Rizospastis pinned the blame for the attack squarely on the US itself.

"It is no coincidence that two or three days ago we had one American attack after the other saying that there is terrorism in Greece," the paper said.

"We believe that the incidents are made in the USA," it added.

Scene of the attack: No member of November 17 has ever been caught

The rightist Elevtheros Tipos blamed the Greek Government, which was "treating the effort to neutralise terrorism as if it is hard labour".

"The impression that the government is not especially cooperative and willing in the anti-terrorism effort is potentially immensely damaging to Greece," commentator Sakis Koutsandas said.

'Greeks themselves targeted'

The centre-right paper Exousia said that the killing of Brigadier Saunders by the November 17 group was also directed against the Greek people.

We are all answerable to the children of Brigadier Saunders... Not because we did something, but because we did absolutely nothing

To Vima

"We, all the rights we have won through struggles, and the homeland we love, are all its targets...."

"We must realise that the bullets of the murderers are aimed at us," the paper said.

Left-of-centre To Vima reflected on what the Greek people's reaction should be.

"We are all answerable to the children of Brigadier Saunders - both as a country and as a nation. Not because we did something, but because we did absolutely nothing and because we are incapable of extending protection to the families that our country hosts."

A statement from the Greek guerrilla group November 17 claiming responsibility for the killing was published in the left-wing paper Eleftherotypia.

It said Brigadier Saunders was killed because of his role in Nato's bombing of Yugoslavia last year.

BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.